Amongst Friends
by Jim Greeno
Summary: Ever wonder how Flash and Nightwing became best friends after their tumultuous past with the Titans? Here's a possibility...


Amongst Friends

by Jim Greeno

Author's Note: The events depicted in this story take place after "Trivial Pursuits" in The New Teen Titans (vol. 2) #32 and The Flash #1 (both were released in June of 1987).

It was just amazing. Up till then, I'd spent my whole adult life struggling to make ends meet. Between classes, homework, the Titans, and Barry, there just wasn't a whole lot of time to get a job. And I'd just recently become The Flash, too. I had no idea where my life was going when it happened.

I dropped a buck on a lottery ticket. One dollar. That one, measly dollar changed my life completely. In a matter of days, I went from a one-bedroom apartment to a pretty modest mansion with more rooms than I had friends to fill them. I was totally unprepared for the personal responsibilities that were coming with all this money. Heh. As it turned out, I wasn't ready for the financial responsibilities, either.

I guess I should have been. I wasn't exactly a stranger to the idea of a crimefighter having a lot of money. Three of my best friends from my Titans days had grown up with rich guardians/fathers. The high life never really appealed to Dick or Roy, but it didn't seem to bother Gar very much. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, money or no money, I'd never really been on my own as a hero or as a man. Mistakes, I suppose, were to be expected.

But certain things needed to be taken care of; things that even a super-idiot like me knew went with being a rich, publicly known super-hero. See, everyone knows I'm Wally West. That's not a problem, really. Yeah, there are times that I miss having a secret identity, especially when it comes to privacy. To make a long story short, when everyone in the world knows that you're the Scarlet Speedster, it goes without saying that you need a security system installed in and around your new house.

I went with the best...the same guys that had done work for Ted Kord in the past. I figured if a techno-head like Kord trusted them, they must do good work. So they came, they saw, they installed. I had flashing lights and electrical doo-dads all over the place. The foreman even challenged me, The Flash, to try and infiltrate my own house.

Back then, I wasn't as fast as I am now. My top speed was just over 700mph. But I was a pro. I'd been doing this whole super-guy thing since I was a kid. Getting past a security system would be a breeze, right?

After my 300th attempt, I gave up. Ego-wise, I was a teeny bit embarrassed, but it was nice to know that no one would be able to break into my house. Still, I'd bet the foreman five hundred bucks and I wasn't about to let him win it that easily. It took a little convincing, but I talked him into a double-the-stakes bet that'd take place on the day he finished the cleanup. I had four days to figure out a way inside.

No sweat. It only took a phone call.

"Let me get this straight. You want me to come all the way out there to break into your house?"

"C'mon, Dick. I'll pay for you to come out. With everyone knowing I'm The Flash, I gotta make sure that I've got a top-of-the-line security system," I said, knowing full well that I could reel him in with some flattery.

"I dunno, Wally. I'm not sure I'm the best man for the job lately," Dick replied.

"Please. You and Bruce are the self-taught masters of everything. Something like this will be a snap for you. Besides, I bet the foreman a thousand bucks you could do it."

Dick chuckled. "Well, in that case, how could I refuse? I'll see you in a couple days, pal. Gotta run."

"Later, man."

Yahtzee! This bet was as good as won. I could taste the excitement, but a wave of concern that washed over me while I was on the phone hadn't yet subsided. Dick still wasn't himself. It had only been a few weeks since I helped the Titans free him from Brother Blood's control. I heard from Vic a few days later that he'd refused to take up leadership of the team from Donna.

Donna and I talked about it for a while after everyone else left my birthday party. We were both a little worried about Dick, and it turned out that I wasn't the only one that felt responsible. The story goes a long way back, but it had to do with our first meeting with Brother Blood. Dick, Donna, Raven, and I infiltrated Blood's church to get the inside scoop on his psycho nonsense. When we surfaced and tried to take him out, he put us down. Hard.

Raven, Donna, and I had the combined strength of a thousand armies, but it was Dick that remained conscious. It was Dick's iron will that piqued Blood's interest. It wasn't till weeks later that Kory told us what had happened to Dick while we were all unconscious. Dick never made mention of the torture he suffered on our behalf, or how he had to recover in minutes to boldly rescue us all from a beast that I'd have puked at the sight of.

And it wasn't till a short time ago that we found out that Blood had been influencing him since that first encounter. For well over a year, Dick has been at constant war with himself, yet still managed to get the Titans through the Terra fiasco, the destruction of the H.I.V.E., Trigon, and God knows what else. And now that it's over, he doesn't know where he stands. He's unsure of himself, confused, and probably more than a little scared.

That was really the first time in my life that I'd ever really thought of Dick in that way. As human, you know? To me, Dick Grayson had always been the embodiment of perfection. Okay, maybe "perfection" isn't the right word. Let me put it this way... When I became Kid Flash, I was larger than life. I could run at almost lightspeed and was virtually unstoppable. Barry was in the Justice League, so I'd met all the heavy hitters a million times. Green Arrow, Superman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Batman, you name it.

But meeting Robin--meeting Dick--made me nervous as hell. Here was a kid the same age as me with no powers. At thirteen-years-old he was already a living legend. And he had no powers, did I tell you that? No powers. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Can you believe it? Before I had powers, my only special ability was being able to eat a cricket without getting dry heaves... and I stopped doing that when I was three.

Anyway, I was just in awe of this kid doing so much with what he had. And he did it all with such style and panache. I'd see him on TV taking out the Riddler or whoever while smiling, flipping, and spouting jokes. His confidence, ability, and intellect were perfect. He was smarter at thirteen than I'll probably ever be.

Then I met him and got to know him. We started hanging out with Aqualad, Speedy, and Wonder Girl and eventually formed the Teen Titans. We were close for those first couple of years, but the petty fighting started just a little while later. We never stopped being friends, but as I recall, there was a lot of resentment toward Dick for whatever reason. I guess it's normal to question a team leader when you're 16 and don't know any better. But the truth is that for all the crap we gave him during that time, there wasn't one of us who would have or could have taken his place as leader if he ever left.

I suppose the fact is that we were all rebelling from our mentors. Garth and Arthur grew further apart, Roy and Ollie were just a mess, and even Barry and I started having problems. But Dick didn't rebel against Bruce, at least not then. And Donna... well, Donna didn't have anyone to irritate the way we did. We were her only family and I think Dick was the only person she really looked up to. I think we all did, and that ended up being the problem.

Dick was just another authority figure to the rest of us... another mentor, for all intents and purposes. Heck, he practically invented the idea of a kid sidekick. But we could take our rebellion to the next level with him because when push came to shove, he didn't really have any control over us.

Roy and Garth got over it as they matured, but I never really got that chance. By the time Dick and I started spending time together again, Raven was in my head making me feel things that weren't there. Dick and I were at odds over that for a long time. We got past it, but we were never as close as were as kids.

There was that camaraderie between us when we both gave up our childhood mantles. That lasted a while. We wrote back and forth for a few months, till that thing with Garth and the H.I.V.E. popped up. By then I had a pretty good idea that my super speed was killing me, and I guess I resented the Titans for replacing me so quickly. I don't think anyone wants to know that life can easily go on without them around, and that's exactly how I felt.

The team found out about my illness when Trigon showed up again. My hatred of my own limitations and weaknesses got the best of me, and it was Dick that put me back in line. After we defeated Trigon, I took off to start over. I didn't see Dick again until we went to save him from Blood.

We weren't on the best of terms after Trigon, but I don't think anyone was thinking straight after that. We saw each other a couple times in passing during the Crisis, but he went off to Tamaran with Kory and Joe. Now things are normal again, and things haven't been this way for both of us since I quit the team. It's been a long time. I guess we were silently agreeing to put it all behind us and start over as adults. But who knows?

A couple days went by. At this stage of my life, I was always either running, eating, or sleeping. After all, what else is there? But at this particular moment, I was sleeping. It had taken me a while to get comfortable in that big house, but sleeping had never been a problem for me, comfortable or not. I woke up suddenly to a noise. Sitting up in bed, I listened closely for another. After a few moments, I could hear someone approaching my bedroom door.

Time for action.

I hit the floor running, and as I did, I felt myself sliding head-first into the wall. I dropped to my knees and placed my hands on the floor to help break the fall. Yuck. There was a gooey grease-like substance all over the floor. As I struggled to my feet, I heard the door swing open behind me. I whirled around a bit too fast and found myself on the floor again being openly laughed at by a doubled-over Nightwing.

"Your security system needs some work, Wally."

"Dick, you sunuva-"

He grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.

"Sorry, man. But if you really wanted this thing tested, this was the way to do it," Dick said as he crossed the room and tossed me my robe.

"Oh, really? In the middle of the night so you could scare me to death?" I threw the robe back at him. By the time he caught it and looked back toward me, I was in costume.

"Middle of the night? It's just now half past ten. Got somewhere to go early tomorrow morning?"

"Nope. I just don't work like I used to. I gotta eat all the time and get plenty of rest. My speed really takes its toll on me nowadays. So what're you doing here? You weren't due in till tomorrow," I said as we headed out of my bedroom and down the front staircase.

Dick shrugged. "Didn't really have much else to do. Things've been really calm with the team lately. And getting away for a few days without them sounded like the way to go."

"Problems?"

Dick removed his mask and sat down on a stool at the kitchen counter. "No, not really. Just trying to figure some things out."

"Anything I can help with?" The question jumped out of my mouth before I considered it. This was the first civilized conversation he and I had had in over a year. He wasn't going to come to me with his problems.

"Nah. I'll work it out."

See?

There was an awkward silence for a minute or so. I broke it with one of my favorite subjects.

"Hungry?"

Dick looked surprised for a moment. "Yeah... I could eat."

"No problemo. Chef Wally, Sandwich Making Maestro, to the rescue. What's your poison?"

"Uhhhh... ham, rye, tomato..."

"Coming right up." I made us a few sandwiches real quick (literally) and led him into my new living room. I sat down on the couch and he took the armchair across from me. We set our plates and glasses of milk on the coffee table between us.

We sat there for a few minutes munching down our makeshift meal when Dick decided to speak up.

"What's on your mind?"

I must've looked perplexed. "What?"

"Wally, don't get me wrong here, but you're eating at normal speed. Seems to me you're biding time," he said with a smile.

"I dunno. I just didn't expect this to be so awkward."

"Yeah, I guess I know what you mean. We haven't exactly been close lately."

"And the others are always around, y'know?" I felt like I was hurting his feelings. Here I was admitting that I was uncomfortable around him because we used to act like asses toward one another.

"Yeah. I guess it's easier to deal with when you can get lost in a crowd. Knowing that's how we feel, why'd you call me?" He seemed eager for an answer.

"I'm not sure. Why did you agree to come?"

"Honestly? Because I didn't think we'd talk about it. I kinda thought that we'd just act as if we were fine, maybe have a few laughs. I really just wanted to get out of town for a while."

"But now you're here and you can't wait to go home," I said with a laugh.

"Hell, Wally... I don't know what to say. Donna just wants me to blame the whole last year of my life on Blood and be done with it. But there's a lot of things I did, decisions I made, that I can't take back."

"Wasn't that the whole point of what Blood was doing to you?"

"Yeah, but now I've got to deal with the consequences. I've got a team full of people that want me to take the reins before I'm ready; a girl that wants us to be together even though she's married to another man; a mentor that was instrumental is saving my life but now doesn't return my calls; and a guy that used to be like a brother to me that can't look me in the eye anymore," his voice trailed off as he ran a hand through his hair.

I let the silence hang there between us for a bit too long. "We were close once, weren't we? I remember how frustrated Barry used to get when I'd use him as a cover to come spend the night at the Manor."

Dick's head lifted a bit as he let out a laugh. "Yeah, Alfred used to hate it when you came over..."

"Yeah, older people never did appreciate me zooming around them all the time."

"Oh, it didn't have anything to do with all that. Alf had met Barry plenty of times. He just didn't care for your table manners..."

This got a big laugh. At that age, I just didn't see the point in doing things at normal speed. Put a plate full of food in front of me and I'd scarf it down in a blink. Come to think of it, this is pretty much still true.

"So when did it go sour, Dick? I mean, what happened to change all that?" I asked.

"I don't know. I guess we grew up. Truth to tell, I think it was more my fault than yours. For the most part, I think Roy and I were really jealous of all of you."

"Jealous? Of me? Why?"

"C'mon, Wally. Do you know how hard this job is for guys like Roy and me? One misstep and it's over. We don't have super strength or speed or whatever. There's a lot less standing between us and death than there ever was for you and Donna and Garth." He seemed bothered by the fact that he was saying this.

"I suppose I understand, though I don't remember any of it being easy for me." I guess I was a little miffed about the implication.

"That's not what I meant, Wally, and you know it. Roy handled his demons in a much different way than I did. But the differences between you and me in terms of power made it real hard on me to lead the team. I felt inadequate a lot of the time. It's one thing to send one of your best friends to face something that could kill him, but it's something else altogether when the reason you're doing it is that you aren't good enough or strong enough to do it yourself."

He sat back in the armchair and seemed satisfied with his response, as if he just bestowed upon me some useful nugget of information that I'd never have discovered on my own. I never liked that about him. But the truth is I never liked it because he was usually right. Hell, I can count the times he's been wrong since I've known him on one hand.

"I guess you're right. When we were younger, I think we resented you for that sometimes. But we learned. With the original Titans, the fact that you never wavered as leader came off as arrogance. It wasn't till after Barry died that I realized that it was confidence. Every good leader has to have it," I said, ducking my head a little. This talking about emotions stuff doesn't come naturally for guys.

"Thanks. You don't know how many times I wanted to quit the team so we could just be friends. I didn't like being on the outside of things. But I kept thinking that one day the Titans would be like the JLA, and the infighting would stop. But when we argued, I argued back. That's what tore us apart."

"Nah. If you just squashed things with an iron fist, we'd have quit. If you just acted like it didn't affect you, we woulda thought you were even more arrogant. It's a catch-22, Dick. We were just kids; too young to be doing what we were doing as a team."

"Then why didn't things work any better with the second group? Except for Gar, we were all adults. Things weren't much easier then..."

"Are you kidding? Why do you think that team has lasted so long? That group of Titans is leaps and bounds better than we were as kids. The fighting that you're talking about was between you and me. The team was fine." Now we were getting to the heart of it.

Dick smiled. "Yeah, you were pissed right from the moment you showed up."

"I didn't wanna be there. It was Raven. She changed my mind, but she didn't change my attitude. I was just in a bad way, man. My speed was slowing down, I was starting to have sporadic pains when I ran, and I wasn't really sure I wanted to be a hero anymore. I didn't know what to do with it all, so I dumped it on you."

"It wasn't that bad. And none of us knew about the problems you were having. What Raven did didn't make it any easier for any of us. You were bitter when you found out what she'd done, but you didn't leave..."

It took me a second to realize that he was asking a question. "Oh... at first it was because I wanted to give Kid Flash a chance. I had to be sure that it wasn't what I wanted. Then after the trip to the Grand Canyon, I stayed because you guys were my friends... and just about my only friends. But as the stuff with Raven got worse and I got sicker and slower, it just got to be too much."

"You handled it well, Wally. And we're all glad that it worked out for the best. I just wish we knew what was going on so that we could have tried to help," he said.

"Barry was there. He gave it to me straight, which is what I needed. A dose of reality for a change. I went back to school, but the truth was that I missed it. When I 'retired' before, it was cool because it was a choice, and I could still use my speed whenever I wanted to. Now I was being told that my speed was killing me and that I had to give up the hero biz. It sucked, man. It really sucked." At this point I was wondering if Dick would charge me for the therapy.

Dick looked at me reassuringly. "But it didn't stop you from coming back to help us."

"Heh. What choice did I have? Raven was in trouble and you needed me to help contact her. I couldn't exactly say 'no.' Then all hell broke loose and it was us against the world. I never had a choice."

"That's what makes you a hero, Wally. You chose to help us--to help Raven--despite the risk to yourself. You put aside your feelings for Raven and me and did what you had to do."

"Dick, I never really had a problem with you. We just didn't get along back then. You represented everything I wanted to be but had to leave behind. Things've changed a lot since then."

"Yeah they have. Tell me something... taking over for Barry, is that what you wanted?"

"To be honest, I'd never really given it a lot of thought. You know how it is. When you grow up the way we both did, you get the idea that your mentor is infallible. Barry gave his life to save us all. You and I would have done the same. It's what we are. Picking up where he left off was never my intention. I just didn't want the world to forget about him and his sacrifice. My condition was in remission and the Crisis made me remember why I became a hero in the first place. I sure as hell wasn't going to be Kid Flash for the rest of my life. It just seemed natural to become The Flash."

Long pause here, so I decided to volley the ball back into his court. "This have something to do with Bruce?"

Dick looked uncomfortable for a moment, then smiled. "Maybe. Of the five of us, I guess I was the only one who was expected to take over for his mentor. I was trained for it. Bruce always preached the importance of having a Batman in Gotham. But now that I'm older and Jason's around, I'm not sure that it's expected of me anymore. And I don't know that I could... or that I would," he stated with a look of obvious confusion on his face.

"Man, I don't think there's any rules or set of instructions for what you're supposed to do when that happens. I think you'll just know." Talk about your morbid subjects.

"Well, in our case there is. Bruce plans for everything. I'm not obligated to take the mantle if something should happen to him. But I promised that I'd take it for a while so that the deaths of Bruce Wayne and Batman couldn't be linked," he replied. He looked at me with a smirk, knowing full well how utterly weird I thought that was.

"You think Jason's got the stones for it? I've heard he's got a bit of a temper..."

"And in your mind does that make him more qualified or less qualified?"

We shared a long laugh over that one, though I wasn't sure it was a joke at first. We fell silent again for a moment as we finished our sandwiches and polished off what was left of the milk. I dashed off to the kitchen to clean up the mess and grabbed us a couple sodas.

"You know, Wally, you've changed a lot."

"How do you mean?"

Dick paused for a moment, as if to make sure that he said the right thing. "You're just a lot more at ease with yourself since you became The Flash. Your confidence is back, you found your sense of humor, and you seem content for the first time since we were kids."

I had to think about that one for a second. "I guess you're right. I was a bit of a stoic somebody there for a while, wasn't I?" I was leaving myself wide open for about a zillion jokes.

"Yeah, but then again so was I. Everything that's happened lately has changed all that for me. What was it for you?"

"It's like you said, man. Becoming The Flash put a lot of things in perspective for me. I figured out who I was and who I wanted to be. Barry had all the same questions about his identity that I had, but he always knew that he wanted to be happy and loved. That was what was most important to him, and it all makes sense to me now. We can put ourselves in harm's way every day, but it doesn't have to be our entire life, you know?"

"Yeah, I just figured that out, too. Everything I've ever tried outside of the costume has crashed and burned, and my love life is an utter mess. But I know that I want other things from my life than just scaring crooks to death in some dark alley. I'm just having a hard time figuring out what those things are."

That's Dick, through and through. Constantly doubting, questioning, and challenging himself has always been what's kept him on his toes. He has no idea how incredible he is at what he does, or what a good friend he is to people. I don't think I've ever seen him put himself first, if you know what I mean. He seems more at ease doing for other people than for himself.

When it comes to being a hero, guys like Dick, Bruce, Ollie, and Roy have always been the cream of the crop to me. They're out there every day laying it on the line with nothing but their wit and determination to protect them. But Dick takes it to the next level. He's really no different out of the costume as a person. Bruce, as far as I know, never takes the cowl off. Roy and Ollie revel in their free time with abandon. Dick doesn't change when the mask comes off. If he's not working with Jason, then he's volunteering at some struggling local circus. And he's always there when someone needs him.

Ask Donna who her closest and dearest friend in the world is. Ask her who put his life on hold for weeks trying to find her parents. Ask Gar who bails him out of trouble with his stepfather and helps him with his long overdue homework. Ask Raven who risked his life to save her from the control of a madman. Ask me who just got me a thousand-dollar discount on a security system. The list goes on and on. It may sound like an insult to some people, but Dick Grayson is a boy scout. He's a saint as far as I'm concerned.

"Well, don't be too hard on yourself, pal. It'll come in time; trust me. Things with you and Kory really that bad?"

He shrugged and shook his head. "I'm not sure, Wally. I wish I knew. I love her more than anything. And even though she forgives me for the way I've been acting lately, I'm not sure I can get past what happened on Tamaran."

"Yeah, I can understand that. But if you love her and wanna be with her, then you're gonna have to learn to accept it. From what Donna told me, she married Karras to stop a war. She doesn't love the guy, Dick, or she wouldn't be here. I know that doesn't make it much easier, but it's true."

"I know. But as much as I love her and care about her, I can't help but think that maybe I'm a little too young for this to be it. In my heart, I know that I want to be with her and I can't picture my life without her; but then my head tells me that I have to be sure. When I was a kid, I just knew that I would be Robin forever because I loved it. But things turned out differently, and now I don't even understand how I ever thought that way. I don't want it to be the same with Kory."

Man, this guy had more problems than I did. "I wish I could answer that for you, man. I'm not exactly Casanova when it comes to women. I love Frankie to death and I can honestly see myself spending the rest of my life with her. But I have the same doubts you do. The one thing that I'm sure of is that right now, I'm happier with her than I am without her. And you're right, at our age maybe that's all we're realistically capable of. But from where I sit, it's much cooler to be happy than confused."

"Good point. But that's me, isn't it? Always obsessing about something. I've always had a problem with just letting things be and going with my feelings. Maybe it's time I gave it a shot," he said. He actually seemed happier than he did a few minutes before. Did I do that?

"I guess that brings us back to you and me, huh?"

I'd be lying if I said this didn't kill the mood a bit. "I dunno, Wally. It's like you said, I never really had a problem with you. Besides, all that stuff was a long time ago. We've both changed a lot since then," Dick replied.

"Yup, we went and grew up. One thing's for sure, I understand you a lot better than I did a couple years ago. I think the problem was that you matured a lot earlier than the rest of us."

"Is this your way of telling me that I was a drag? Because you weren't exactly Dr. Happy, either," he retorted.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You want the truth about you and me, Dick? Bottom line: I resented you when we were kids because I felt inferior. I was a kid and you were a pro. Now, those same things that I resented are the things I respect you for. When we first met, I looked up to you and wanted to be like you... and now I think I'm a better man for it." He was blushing. I hadn't seen him blush like that since Kory popped that first kiss on him.

"I appreciate that, man. Really. And I know this is going to sound corny, but I can honestly say all the same things about you."

"What do you mean?"

"I resented you when we were kids, too. You guys have no idea how much I wanted to be like you. And I'm not just talking about the powers. You guys had lives that were much more normal than mine. Well, except for Donna, that is. You had father figures that were supportive and openly cared about you, and it showed. You, Roy, and Garth were just a lot more free-spirited than me, and I envied that.

"Don't get me wrong. Bruce had his ways of showing me kindness and love, but he was more like a drill sergeant than a father. I may have been a pro, but you guys actually had the chance to be kids, y'know? I never had that... and I'm not ashamed to admit that I resented you for it. And now it's those things that I respect about all of you. Your ability to be free and the type of man that freedom makes you. I still envy that."

"Wow, I never knew any of that, man. We're having one of those moments right now, aren't we? One of those moments where you just wanna hug a guy," I said with a grin.

"Listen, pal. I'll settle for a handshake and another soda."

And he did. Well, we both did. We had a couple more drinks and spent some time catching up. As it turns out, Dick always thought of me as the powerhouse of the group because of my multitude of abilities. That conversation was short-lived, though, because we both realized that I couldn't do half of that stuff anymore. We also both admitted to having crushes on Donna Troy when we were kids, though we had different reasons for not acting on it. Dick didn't want to irritate Roy, and I had a problem getting involved with a girl that could punch a hole in my chest.

Anyway, we talked until dawn and spent the bulk of the next day sleeping. When Donna and Kory called, I told them that Dick was helping me track down a notorious gang of pencil smugglers. Donna thought it was great that we were getting along again, while Kory was just peeved that Dick was still avoiding her.

We had a great time over the next couple of days, especially when Dick gave the foreman from the security company the long list of things he needed to fix.

"You expect me to believe that this little guy right here got into your house in the middle of the night without my alarm going off?" he asked with a disbelieving smile as we stood just outside of the main gate.

"Yessir, he sure did," I responded.

"I'd like to see him prove it."

Dick started laughing as he approached the foreman, coming nose-to-nose with him. He then started speaking in The Voice, bringing his full Nightwing persona to bear, "I've known Flash here for ten years, and you want to know something funny?"

"Y-yeah," the foreman stammered nervously.

"The Flash, the fastest man alive, keeps a brown stuffed dog named Scruffy under his bed," Dick said, revealing something I'd rather he hadn't.

The foreman looked at me briefly, then back at Nightwing. "Okay, so?"

Dick removed one of his wristbands, flicked open a small panel on its side, and handed it to the foreman. He then pressed a small button on the side of his mask, causing the lenses to flicker momentarily.

"That viewscreen will show you what I see, as I see it." The foreman looked down at the screen, which currently showed him looking down at the screen. Like a 4-year-old in an electronics store, he gave a small "Hi, mom" kind of wave.

"Activate the alarm system. Scruffy and I will be back in a few," Dick said with a smirk.

Over the next several minutes, the foreman and I watched as Nightwing proceeded to infiltrate my house and kidnap my childhood toy. It was amazing to see things through his eyes as he launched lines, performed impossible aerials, and maneuvered through the smallest of spaces as he set about his task. When he returned triumphant, the foreman looked at him wide-eyed, all the while cursing inwardly.

Dick got a kick out of that, and I got a thousand bucks knocked off my bill.

Dick hung around for another day before heading back to New York. A few weeks later, we took a vacation together to some godforsaken wilderness park in Canada that Dick chose. We've done the vacation thing every year since, always ending up in a place that I wouldn't have picked in a million years. He keeps insisting that this is my fault because I'm indecisive.

Well, this year I've got it all worked out. We're going to Hawaii in style...

...although I hear that Tahiti is nice, too...

...or maybe Europe. I could use some culture...

...and Australia is a definite possibility...

END


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